At noon on October 8th, the seventh year of Tianzheng (1579), on the sea east of Xiaguan Strait, a fisherman was rowing a boat, walking along the waterway he was familiar with. But today, the obstacles on the sea were much more unexpected. They were almost
Shipwrecks, flags, and corpses were scattered all over the sea. The strong smell of blood attracted many sharks. The boatman carefully maneuvered the oar to avoid those scary big guys.
He looked around and saw that the entire sea area was blood red, as if it were the sea surface reflected by the setting sun. He raised his head and looked at the sun in the sky, then lowered his head and looked at the sea surface. The scene in front of him seemed like
Somewhat unreal.
The most unreal thing was the monster-like armored ship in the distance and the mighty fleet flying the red leaf flag behind him.
·
Not long ago, a terrible massacre occurred on this sea. When all the ships crowded towards the giant ship of the Hongye Fleet, the long-dead cannons and iron cannons suddenly began to fire. The pirates thought this at first
It was just the Hongye Fleet that had exhausted its last ammunition, but the "last ammunition" had yet to be bottomed out. The almost close-faced bombardment caused unacceptable losses to the combined fleet, and large numbers of ships were directly smashed to pieces.
All the pirates and sailors fell into the water. And when the gun crew of Hongye Fleet replaced solid bullets with shotguns - the massacre began.
Shotgun shells are not artillery shells used in naval battles at all, because long-range shotgun shells have almost no lethality against ships. However, at such a short distance, shotgun shells caused the dense combined fleet to turn the sea red almost instantly.
The combined fleet collapsed. They pinned all their hopes of victory on the so-called "Red Leaf Fleet ran out of ammunition." However, this hope was shattered by the continuous roar of artillery fire. However, the combined fleet trying to escape was trapped by the iron rope set by itself.
Obstructed by the formation, the ships struggled to untie the iron ropes and stow away the anchors, but the gunboats of Hongye Fleet had already caught up.
Murakami Takeyoshi, Shimazu Hisashi and many high-ranking samurai abandoned the ship and escaped in the chaos, but the combined fleet was almost destroyed. More than 70% of the ships were sunk by the Red Leaf Fleet and captured. A large number of pirates who abandoned the ship and came ashore were in hiding.
was knocked down by artillery fire from behind on the beach. After establishing the victory, the Red Leaf Fleet began to salvage the enemy soldiers who fell into the water. The casualties in this battle have not yet been calculated, but there is no doubt that either the Mishima Navy or the Shimadzu Navy
Both the Otomo Navy and the Otomo Navy are finished. There is no force in the entire Seto Inland Sea that can threaten the Momiji Fleet.
·
"It's true that he was so clever that he was misled by his cleverness."
After the battle, Yasuki Itami came to Suruga Maru where Amakihei was, "I always felt that the trick His Highness had painstakingly laid out to lure the enemy was of no use, because others couldn't notice it at all, and it was just a show of flattery to a blind man.
.Unexpectedly, some people in the Combined Fleet who thought they were smart actually took the bait and thought we had run out of ammunition."
"I think His Highness's plan is too simple. You can tell at a glance that it's a conspiracy." Yunan Fukuzawa interjected, "Others are fine, but sending people to pick up cannonballs on the beach is really a failure."
"Then maybe, the other side thinks that such a simple trick is just to let them see it, to scare them away." Yu Qiuping joked with a smile, "Isn't this like a Russian matryoshka doll?
One floor after another? You thought I was on the second floor, but actually I was already on the fifth floor?"
"So, although Hanbei is very good at calculations, he does not like conspiracy, but loves conspiracy." Yu Qiuping thought of Takenaka Shigeharu who was far away in Shikoku, "Because conspiracy, to put it bluntly, relies on deception. I am better than you
If I think one more level than you, I can beat you. But if I think two levels more than you, you can beat me. A master who can think of the tenth level may be defeated by someone who can think of the eleventh level. But even if
You can think about the ninety-ninth level of the divine fortune teller, but you may overturn on a fool who only thinks about the first level. Therefore, the conspiracy is unreliable and the uncertainty is too great. Unless the general who is really responsible is in a certain position
An irreparable disadvantage, otherwise we would not have pinned our strategy on conspiracy."
"But Yangmou is different. Everything is on paper. No matter which way you go, you will jump into the pit. There are no surprises." Yu Qiuping withdrew his gaze and looked at the battlefield in front of him. "In fact, there is also going to the other side.
Yangmou means moving in the direction. The ninjas from the Military Intelligence Department noticed that the Shimadzu family investigated the records of merchant ships coming and going from Hirado Port and found that there were no supply ships from Sakai Town. They must have thought that with the capacity of our ships, we
The artillery shells they brought had been exhausted long ago in the high-intensity shelling. If there were no new supplies, there would definitely not be much left. In fact, the Shimadzu family's guess was correct. I guess they got it from this.
Such a strategy was formulated based on the changing facts, and it cannot be made up just because we discovered our conspiracy to pick up cannonballs on the beach and buy gunpowder everywhere."
"Yes, but they obviously didn't expect that we have another supply line." Fukuzawa Yunan thought of this and couldn't help but admired, "Your Highness is really foresighted. Before setting off for the expedition, he asked the young master who was on the Shanyin Road to
The artillery reserve Jingzhe prepared half of the artillery shells for the accompanying army, and transported them all the way from the open sea to the north of Shanin Road to the north of Kyushu, where they happened to meet up with our fleet."
"But even so, we will have nothing left of ammunition after this battle. I originally thought that those army shotguns were useless, but I didn't expect that they would be quite useful in the boarding battle." Itami Yasukichi laughed and cried repeatedly.
Shaking his head, "I've made inquiries. When loading and unloading ammunition, it seems that a piece of solid ammunition could not be transported in time. Young Master Naoe, who was in a panic, was afraid of delaying the departure time. Regardless of the objections of the naval officers we sent, he moved the remaining cabins
Filled with these shotguns, it's really a miss."
"That kid from Cheng Yuan Wan is so lucky, hey." Yu Qiuping also burst out laughing after hearing this, "It's a pity not to go to the casino. We sent him to the casino and made tens of thousands of dollars in one day. How can we use it?"
It’s such a big circle.”
"Okay, let's hurry up and force the Otomo family, Shimazu family and Mori family to negotiate with us before the power of this great victory is over. Don't wait for them to calm down and become stubborn again."
·
However, to Yu Qiuping's expectation, these three families were still very stubborn even though the navy suffered a disastrous defeat. However, Yu Qiuping suddenly understood after thinking about it - he could succeed in this maritime cruise battle by relying on
It's just that the various daimyo didn't pay enough attention to sea control. Since they didn't pay enough attention, it seems that the destruction of the navy didn't have a big weight in their hearts.
Yu Qiuping originally wanted to blockade the port and attack the coastal cities again to give these big names a bit of a show. However, the Hongye Fleet's ammunition was running low. The two wars this year had exhausted the Yu Qiu family's ammunition reserves. Even though
He had to work overtime to produce ammunition, which was probably next year. So Yu Qiuping had to give up his aggressive stance and start negotiating with the Otomo family and the Shimadzu family, while the Maori family refused to negotiate at all.
However, even the Otomo and Shimazu families stated that they would not betray the Western Alliance and firmly disagreed with negotiating peace with Yu Qiuping. However, Yu Qiuping said, "Even if there is a war, this business can be done. A dignified samurai,
What’s the point of attacking unarmed merchant ships and merchants?”
Yu Qiuping's unconventional proposal made both daimyo a little puzzled. However, after all, the battle was defeated, and Yu Qiuping still held many of their prisoners of war, and they could be released after negotiation. At this time, Ashikaga Yoshinishi
Worried that the Western Alliance would collapse due to Yu Qiupei's sudden attack, he also intervened in an attempt to mediate the battle between the Oda family and the Western Alliance.
Therefore, 10 days after the Battle of Shimonoseki, the Uqiu family, the Otomo family, and the Shimadzu family reached the "Treaty of Shimonoseki." The treaty stipulated that the Uqiu family's merchant ships could trade freely in the ports and territories of the Otomo family and the Shimadzu family.
, the Otomo family and the Shimazu family are not allowed to attack them. The ports of the Otomo family and the Shimazu family that Yu Qiuping previously occupied will be returned to the two countries (the islands are not included in them and are still occupied by the Yu Qiuping family). At the same time, Yu Qiuping
The middle and low-level prisoners of war of the Otomo family and the Shimazu family were released. As for the high-level prisoners of war, they were temporarily detained in the hands of Yu Qiupei as hostages to prevent the Otomo family and the Shimazu family from attacking the Yu Qiu family's merchant ships.
Before the bodies and wreckage in the Seto Inland Sea have been salvaged, the ships and cargo that have been stranded in Sakai Town for a long time are already swarming towards Kyushu. A large number of ships are queuing up from Sakai Town and Kishiwada Port, heading south to the Kii Waterway,
After bypassing Shikoku Island, he went to various ports on Kyushu Island for trade. Yu Qiuping left garrison companies at various important ports and islands, and left 20 destroyers cruising in the waters of Kyushu Island to ensure the safety of merchant ships. Implemented several
The Western trade embargo in May was completely collapsed in front of the Yuqiu family's gunboats. Kyushu Island once again became a paradise for trade, and the economic crisis faced by the Yuqiu family was also alleviated.
·
November 2, the seventh year of Tianzheng (1579),
"We're almost there." Ye Gusui, who was on the bow of the ship, stood on tiptoes while holding on to the side of the ship, pointing at Sakai Port, which gradually appeared in the field of vision in the distance. She turned around and smiled at Yu Qiuping, "Your Highness, we are almost there!"
"Two months go by so fast." Yu Qiuping put his hands behind his back, feeling the sea breeze blowing on his face, and the red leaf shawl rustled.
"Hey, Your Highness, what are those?" When the distance got closer, Haikou stuck her head out and looked at Sakai Town with some surprise, "There are many, many, many people! They are all at the port!"
"Huh?" Yu Qiuping was confused when he heard this. He also walked to the side of the ship, took out his telescope and looked towards the port. After adjusting the focus, he smiled, put the telescope away and put it back in his arms.
Those were none other than the countless workers and businessmen in Sakai Town. After they learned that the Red Leaf Fleet would make a triumphant return today, they all spontaneously gathered in Sakai Town, holding various banners and slogans to welcome the return of this fleet.
The fleet cheered.
When the Momiji Fleet set off, the city almost collapsed due to the embargo and was lifeless. When the Momiji Fleet returned, various factories and chambers of commerce were busy again. The compensation and trade conditions brought back by the Momiji Fleet restored Sakai Town's vitality.
It has also given countless businessmen and workers who have lost their livelihoods a new lease of life.
The officers and soldiers of the Red Leaf Fleet enjoyed the warm cheers of the people on the port, on the pier, on the beach and even on the shoals. The sound was even louder than the sound of the cannon during the salvo. Many congressmen were holding iron trumpets to send messages to the Red Leaf Fleet.
He praised the fleet and even shouted that he would put forward a bill to increase the armaments budget of the Hongye Fleet. For the first time, Yu Qiuping had the feeling that this fleet was not fighting for kingship and hegemony, but fighting for its own people.
Chapter completed!